All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), both three-wheeled and four-wheeled, have become very popular among outdoorsmen and hunters as well as ATV enthusiasts. ATVs are frequently ridden through wooded areas and are not dependent on trails or roads. As such, riders of ATVs are frequently, exposed to spider webs. At best, unexpectedly riding through a spider web is an inconvenience, as web is difficult to remove from the face, hair, clothing and/or goggles or helmet visor. At worst, this event can be dangerous inasmuch as there is an attendant risk of being bitten by a spider. There is also a risk of an accident occurring as a result of the driver being momentarily distracted by the web. What is needed is a readily attachable device that removes spider webs from the path of an ATV without significantly impairing the rider's vision and without requiring cleaning web from a windshield-type device.
Many devices have been disclosed for protecting the riders of such vehicles as bicycles, golf carts, strollers and ATVs from the elements. In this regard, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,546 issued to Gottfried et al. on Jun. 2, 1964, a frame for a canopy for an infant's stroller for protecting a child in the stroller from rain, wind or the like is disclosed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,614 issued to Hines et al. on Jul. 26, 1977, a canopy for a vehicle such as a golf cart is disclosed. The canopy is supported by a plurality of upstanding support posts carried by the vehicle. The canopy is flexible and is arched such that the canopy assumes a saddle-like or generally hyperbolic parabaloid shape.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,196 issued to Carter Sr. on Dec. 24, 1985, a convertible top for a motorcycle is disclosed. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,214 issued to Fu on Oct. 18, 1988 a shield apparatus for a motorcycle is disclosed that includes a top cover.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,017 issued to Norton on Aug. 21, 1990, a kit which provides a removable top assembly for ATVs and the assembled top is disclosed. The top is supported by a pair of lateral upright support members fixed to a rear portion of the vehicle, forward and rearward generally U-shaped upright support bows coupled to the lateral supports and a forwardly extending generally horizontal support bow coupled to an upper region of the lateral supports. A front windscreen can also be provided.
In UK Pat. Application 2096955, published on Oct. 27, 1982, M. J. Kitson discloses a removable canopy for a bicycle. Kitson's canopy includes a hood secured to a rectangular hood frame and supported at the corners by supporting struts which are carried by two attachment members clamped to the bicycle frame below the handlebars and below the seat. And, German patent no. 830462 appears to disclose a frame for a canopy for a tractor.
None of these devices disclose a flexible device having a free distal end for removing spider webs from the path of the vehicle for keeping the spider webs out of the rider's face or off of the vehicle's windscreen. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a flexible device having a free distal end capable of removing spider webs from the path of an ATV or similar vehicle for keeping spider webs out of a rider's face or off of the vehicle's windscreen.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device without significantly obscuring a rider's field of vision.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a device that is readily attachable to and removable from a typical ATV.
Other objects and advantages over the prior art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description together with the drawings, as described as follows.